Hundreds of people rallied Saturday morning in South L.A. to bring attention to child sex trafficking throughout Los Angeles. Led by city and county leaders supporters marched south on Western Avenue between Martin Luther King blvd. and 53rd street.
Photo by Xavier Higgs

Hundreds of people rallied Saturday morning in South L.A. to bring attention to child sex trafficking throughout Los Angeles.
Photo by Xavier Higgs

Hundreds of people rallied Saturday in South Los Angeles to bring attention to the fight against child sex trafficking in the city.

Led by city and county leaders, including County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas and Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey, supporters marched south on Western Avenue between Martin Luther King Boulevard and 53rd Street.

This corridor of Western Avenue lined with hotels, liquor stores, a church and elementary school slices through a residential area in South Los Angeles widely known for its prostitution activity. Authorities said young girls who are forced into prostitution are frequently seen in this area every night.

Raymond Stroupe lives in the neighborhood. He says most evenings prostitutes can be seen sitting on the St. Brigid Catholic Church porch, at the corner of Western Avenue and 53rd Street.

“In the morning when you come outside you find old used condoms in your yard.”

Another neighbor, who moved into the neighborhood in August and refused to give his name, says it’s “frustrating.”

“Sometimes I come out of my house at 4 a.m. and find prostitutes urinating behind my bushes.”

Supervisor Thomas of the 2nd District said he wants to send a message to the johns. “You can’t hide and to the victims you no longer need to hide.”

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, human trafficking is a criminal enterprise and the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Profiting from enslaving people for sexual servitude is second to drug trafficking.

D’Lita Miller, survivor and activist for ‘Families Against Sex Trafficking,’ was a victim for 25 years. She was kidnapped at age 11, raped and sold for sex all within 48 hours.

“I had my first child at age 15. By the age of 24 I had five children.”

Despite the seriousness of the problem, the prevalence of commercial child sexual exploitation is difficult to measure.

Advertisement

Thomas has promised to step up the pressure on johns and pimps. His campaign to fight sex trafficking throughout Los Angeles County will coordinate the resources of his office, the Los Angeles District Attorney, local law enforcement, as well as the city of Los Angeles.

L.A. City Councilwoman Nury Martinez, who attended the rally, expressed concern about the sexual exploitation of children and has pledged to work with Lacey and City Attorney Mike Feuer’s office to fight sex trafficking. She says this is important for the Valley district she represents. Vanowen Street and Sepulvuda Boulevard is recognized as one of Los Angeles’ hot spots for prostitution.

Recently, during a five-hour ride-along with LAPD, she said she witnessed how pervasive the prostituting of children is in her district.

“I was surprised to see 13-, 14-, and 15-year-old girls being used as prostitutes,” said Martinez. “The men seem to think it was OK to pull up to a 13-year-old girl to pay her for sex.”

However, in June Martinez, in conjunction with the L.A. District Attorney and L.A. City Attorney’s office will launch a “johns school” for men who have been picked up for soliciting young girls. Similar to traffic school, this eight-hour course would involve johns listening to testimonials from victims of prostitution.